The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Crivvens: Oor Wullie statues go into storage
Big Bucket Trail favourites to go under the hammer for children’s charities
The streets of Dundee look a little emptier this week as the Big Bucket Trail comes to an end.
After thrilling visitors and families with their cheeky laughs, the Oor Wullie statues have been uplifted and are now in storage before going under the hammer to raise thousands for children’s charities.
It was the first ever trail to cover several cities at once.
More than 200 statues of the comic character were dotted around Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness.
However, even though they are gone for now, just like last year’s Penguin Parade there is still an opportunity to tick off any that Oor Wullie hunters may have missed.
All 32 Dundee sculptures – as well as the two that were in Perth and St Andrews – will be together from September 13-15 at Slessor Gardens.
After that, an auction will take place to raise cash for the ARCHIE Foundation on September 16 at Dundee Rep Theatre.
The money raised will go towards building a new children’s operating theatre suite within Ninewells Hospital.
Auctions in the other Scottish cities will raise money for children’s hospital charities in their areas.
Last year’s Penguin Parade raised £540,000 for charity, with the top bid being £11,000 for the P-Pick Up the Phone Penguin.
Project manager Neil Cooney said: “We’ve had more than 1.5 million sculpture visits across the country, with an estimated 180,000 taking place in Tayside and Fife.
“Sadly, the trail has come to an end and the sculptures have been taken into storage to be cleaned up by the art team and have any wear and tear repaired before the farewell event.
“Anyone who did not manage to get round all of the Oor Wullies will have one last chance to see them when the Dundee sculptures will be together in Slessor Gardens.”
People of Lochee were given a pleasant surprise on Saturday when Neil decided to take one of the Oor Wullies to Lochee High Street for the afternoon, in response to criticism from locals that the area had been overlooked.
Tickets are needed to access Slessor Gardens to see all the Tayside and Fife statues together and are available via Dundee Box Office’s City Square shop and website.